News

Rio Grande hosts Take Back The Night march

November 4, 2013

RIO GRANDE, Ohio – To help raise awareness and prevent sexual violence, the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College will host a Take Back The Night march at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

The event, sponsored by the Rio Grande LGBT&A student organization, will begin at the Alumni Bell Tower with a welcome from President Dr. Barbara Gellman-Danley. Activities will include a brief history of Take Back The Night, Call to March poem, march throughout campus and conclude with fellowship and hot chocolate at the gazebo adjacent to the basketball court.

“This is a direct action march to raise awareness of the prevalence and causes of rape and sexual violence,” said Professor April Julier, sponsor for LGBT&A. “Attendees can expect to feel educated and empowered when they leave Take Back The Night.”

The Take Back The Night Foundation serves to create safe communities and respectful relationships through awareness events and initiatives. The first documented event took place in Philadelphia in 1975, with an international event at the 1976 International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Brussels, Belgium.

One in four women are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, according to the Leila Grace Foundation – a nonprofit that provides sexual assault prevention programs. The foundation also reports less than 5 percent of college students who are sexually assaulted report the crime to the police.

Participants also are welcome to gather in the Red Zone at 5:30 p.m. to make signs for the march.